


Inflorescence

by Nununununu



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Attraction, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, Sneezing, Touching, nose kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nununununu/pseuds/Nununununu
Summary: There’s the most unexpected noise from behind them.
Relationships: Iorek Byrnison/Lee Scoresby
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22
Collections: Fluffy as a Cloud Flash Exchange





	Inflorescence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoreyG](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/gifts).



> For the wonderful DoreyG :)

There’s the most unexpected noise from behind them.

“Hm?” One leg up over the side of the gondola in readiness to hop out, Lee nearly dislodges Hester from his shoulder as he twists around to glance back in surprise.

Iorek had been asleep right up until a moment ago and had looked set to stay that way, but he turns out to be risen up onto his elbows now and shaking his head. Pushing the brim of his hat back with the hand not holding the railing, Lee aims an enquiring look at their friend, “You all right there, Iorek?”

“Lee, Hester; please excuse me. I seem to be beset by –” Iorek’s immense shoulders shake, sides heaving, his words cut off as he convulsively –

Sneezes a second time. He also repeats the head shake thing and raises a forepaw to rub at his nose.

“Um –” Lee’s still got one leg up like an idiot, frozen in place, twitching helplessly when Iorek sneezes a third time, and then, right on the heels of that one, a fourth. His mouth wanting to grin, but not quite managing it as he watches, unintentionally transfixed. It’s –

_It’s_ –

“Right, so that has to be one of the most adorable things we’ve ever seen,” Hester says it for him, from where she’s jumped off his shoulder and onto the railing. But –

“Reckon you mean _the_ single most darned adorable thing,” Attempting to get himself back together, Lee nonetheless has to correct.

A puffy white round thing landing on the sleeve of his coat would go unnoticed except for the fact Hester gives him a meaningful prod, “Lee, isn’t that –”

A certain suspicion going off in his mind, Lee twists himself back around to shoot a look out to the stretch of arctic they’ve landed in, discovering hundreds of blobs of woolly cottongrass carpeting the area, their soft heads bobbing merrily until a stronger gust buffets them, filling the air with countless bits of fluff.

Rocking on his haunches so hard the gondola sways, Iorek sneezes yet again.

Lee winces, “Oh dang.”

“We should get out of here, right?” Bounding down off the railing to lollop over to the polar bear’s side, Hester addresses their friend.

“There is no need,” Iorek quits pawing at his nose to peer at her somewhat blearily in return, his deep voice a bit thicker than usual, “I have no doubt I will shortly be fi–”

He’s cut off by another sneeze.

“Hey now, come on, we’re not about to stay here when something’s bothering you like this,” Belatedly unhooking his ankle, Lee follows in his daemon’s wake, approaching their friend to offer a conciliatory clap of his hand to Iorek’s shoulder, “I’m guessing you don’t usually travel to this neck of the woods?”

“There aren’t any woods here, Lee,” Hester hisses, “Don’t confuse the issue,” but Iorek’s busy surging up onto all fours and swinging forwards across the bit of space between man and bear.

“I-Iorek?” Lee has enough time to blink, before a certain black nose is burying itself in the gap where his coat is undone at the collar, having foregone his scarf given the milder clime. He’s without his gloves for once too, meaning his bare hands sink into soft fur when they fly up automatically, his breath hitching at the ticklish touch.

“I do apologise for the imp-imposition,” Iorek’s voice is even more muffled, his huge body shuddering as he represses yet another sneeze. He snuffles against Lee’s throat right after, cool nose whisking against skin that suddenly feels overly warm –

Oh, that would be because all of the blood in Lee’s body seems to have decided to rush to his face and neck. Although –

Fine, all right, _most_ of it. Because there’s also a fair portion intent on heading south, which is –

Well, now’s definitely not the time to think on _that_.

“No, it – it’s no imposition,” Lee very badly doesn’t want his friend to withdraw all the same, “Though I’ll need to be filling the balloon back up with gas if we’re going to head off.”

“ _Lee_ ,” Hester’s muttered admonishment is well-deserved, because – _why_? Why would his mouth go and say such a damn fool thing?

Except –

Except Iorek is suffering, so however much Lee wants them to stay like this quite possibly forever, they really do need to resettle somewhere away from the cottongrass.

“I believe I am starting to adjust,” His mouth grazing against the corner of Lee’s jaw, causing Lee’s fingers to tighten in thick fur and his breath to catch, Iorek then pulls back just enough to look up at him, “You have my gratitude for permitting me the liberty.”

His hands now cupping his friend’s muzzle, Lee can only mutely shake his head for a second, before scraping his voice up enough to answer, “It wasn’t – you can –”

Well, to try to answer, as distracted as he is by the shorter fur around Iorek’s mouth now grazing his palms.

“What this one here means is that you can do it anytime,” Hester decides to provide for him.

“Yeah, I, ah,” He has to stop to dampen his lips, “I mean, if you start sneezing again and it helps –”

As if on cue, that nose of Iorek’s twitches. Lee’s mouth quirks correspondingly.

“I will – attempt not to,” Iorek manages, lifting his head to shake it slightly before leaning right back into Lee’s still upraised hands, “I have no wish to take advantage.”

“You know, I really don’t mind,” There’s a smile working its way determinedly onto Lee’s still somewhat flushed face, “If you find _this_ troubling you –”

He dares to poke his finger gently against that sensitive nose in illustration, biting his lip on his widening grin when the teasing makes Iorek blink.

“I have experienced occasional difficulties upon encountering such grasses previously, but never such as this,” He sounds a little sheepish if anything.

“My theory is it’s due to the sheer amount of the stuff,” Hester’s bounded up on top of a stack of crates to glance out at the cottongrass, although her attention’s shortly back on their friend.

“I reckon she’s probably right,” Lee ignores Hester’s snorted response to that ‘probably’, his gaze remaining fixed on the polar bear, “You feeling a bit better now?”

The wind’s thankfully seen fit to do the polar bear a kindness and stopped flinging so much of the stuff about.

“Indeed,” Iorek bows his head solemnly, and Lee has no hope whatsoever of keeping himself from doing what he does next.

“ _Good_ ,” It takes no effort for him to dip his own head to drop a kiss on that nose when Iorek raises his muzzle back up, “I’m real glad to hear it.”

His heart gives a mighty big thump when he registers just what he’s gone and done. But –

“Thank you, my friend,” Iorek takes it upon himself to graze his muzzle against Lee’s hot cheek, before delivering a lick to the man’s own nose.

“ _I-Iorek_ ,” Lee’s hand flies up to his face while Hester all but falls off the rail.

“Perhaps it would not be remiss of us to move the balloon all the same,” Iorek is saying, when Lee regains at least some of his wits, “If it would not be a waste of the gas.”

“Iorek, I –” Lee’s mouth starts to blurt something about how he’d fly his friend anywhere and everywhere the polar bear might possibly want. “It most certainly wouldn’t,” he gets out instead.

And if, when he’s getting the balloon ready for them to take off, Iorek presses his nose against him again, this time at the nape of his neck –

Well, if Iorek’s not sneezing any more to provide the excuse, Lee’s sure not going to be the one to tell.

_Fin._


End file.
